Sunday, September 28, 2008

10 Day Project: Day 9

Since most of my projects are either drying out or becoming moldy, I thought I would experiment with the idea of preservation. Today, I took a glass jar and half filled it with corn kernels, the other half I filled with cold wax, and then I poured hot wax to seal it off. I then tried a second time, this time I filled the bottle with kernels and then poured hot wax over them inside the bottle.

The hot wax was very difficult to work with. I think it may have been easier if I had a microwave or something handy to melt it in. I was probably using the most unsafe method, of melting it in a bag and then pouring it that way. I wish there had been clearer instructions on the box as to how to use the wax. I didn’t burn myself or ruin the pot or the wax, but I think there was definitely the potential for disaster.

I like the idea of the wax as a preservative agent. Wax can be used for candles or sealing jars, and has been used for thousands of years in similar ways. I’ve never worked with wax before, aside from one craft class at camp many years ago, so I was excited to try it out. It was simply paraffin wax from the grocery store.